Pedicab drivers lingering on the north end of Tian'anmen Square await tourists. [Photo by Li Jianhui/photoint.net]

The Forbidden City, witness to the vicissitudes of China, is of deep symbolic significance for the development of Chinese society.

The pictures in photographer Li Jianhui's work, Business Wave Encircling the Forbidden City in 1993, make one feel like they are discovering ancient treasures in Chinese history.

Time has indeed brought a great change to the world and the images captured in black and white by Li more than 20 years ago have become unfamiliar to us.